An image from the Project Pressure expedition to East Greenland in 2012, by Klaus Thymann

For the first time this summer Citizen Science are offering individuals the chance to join climate biologist Astrid M Z Bonde PhD on a glacier and wildlife monitoring trip to Greenland. The journey will bridge research and tourism to motivate an interest in the artic and broaden the access of scientific observation that will in turn benefit climate change and biodiversity research.

This trip will provide the opportunity to journey across Western Greenland, from the tundras in Kangerlussuaq to the ice sheets near Disko bay. One aspect of this expedition is to gather pictures of the natural environment to input into apps and databases. This enables Citizen Science to contribute to ongoing research within the field, as well as existing projects, including Project Pressure, that will then be available for both scientists and the public to use.

So why not create your own adventure whilst contributing photographs to Project Pressure’s archive. There are still a few places available on this tour and you can read more here. Quoting Project-pressure.org at point of purchase will get you a discount of 500 DKK (£50) too!

An installation view of There Is Always Something More Important and Recent Futures from MODEL at Rudolfinum, Prague.

Project Pressure are really excited to announce a new artistic partnership with Mariele Neudecker. Neudecker’s work continuously returns to looking at ‘landscape traditions in art, dealing simultaneously with questions around technology and science, collective experience and time.’ This year will see Neudecker travelling to the area surrounding Nuuk in Southwest Greenland, where her multidisciplinary practice will be used to capture glaciers meeting the sea in both still and moving image. Sign up to our newsletter to get regular updates on this exciting expedition.

Last week Simon Norfolk’s When I am Laid in Earth was announced winner of the landscape category for Sony World Photography Award. His winning piece depicted an impression of how climate change has affected Mount Kenya’s glaciers. It is Norfolk’s first contribution to the Project Pressure archive and relied on data provided by the Project Pressure team.

When asked about receiving the award Norfolk said;

‘My second Sony – it just gets better and better. A huge thanks to Project Pressure without whom it never would have occurred to me to start thinking about climate change in general and glaciers in particular. Inspirational!’

The data and glacier outlines were sourced, in part, from peer reviewed articles published over the last 50 years. Useful maps were identified within journal articles and the authors were contacted so the relevant first and second hand information could be retrieved. Further information was drawn from the Mount Kenya glacial records held at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC); and from the Global Ice Land Measurements from Space (GLIMS) database, which provided current GPS information. Through this methodology it was possible to pinpoint historical glacier outlines onto GPS devices. This allowed Norfolk to track the previous glacial extents.

In utilising a dramatic juxtaposition alongside a simple message Norfolk produced highly potent artwork; creating a powerful tool for communicating climatic and glacial data and raising awareness regarding the impacts of climate change. When I am Laid In Earth was originally featured in The New York Times Magazine last December.

Check out our earlier posts for links to the full series and the behind the scenes video from the expedition.

In partnership with the World Glacier Monitoring Service, Project Pressure is currently asking for your help in improving a glacial photo database. It may be that you’ve got a trip planned to the Alps, have previously mounted an expedition to the Himalayas, or know of some old glacier photos hidden up in the attic. Whatever the case, check out our list of high priority and important glaciers and get involved. However, do not be discouraged if you have glacial photos not included in this list, any photos are always encouraged and welcomed! Your contributions are a vital part of our mission! For further instructions on how to upload any photos please click here.

At the beginning of 2015 Klaus Thymann led the Project Pressure team on a challenging expedition in pursuit of the unique beauty found in two of New Zealand’s 3000 glaciers. Generously supported by Casio G-shock the expedition enabled them to enjoy sweeping views of those held within Mount Cook National Park, including the spectacular Tasman and Fox glaciers. The images captured in New Zealand pictured above will be on display alongside other photographs of extreme locations as part of a solo exhibition by Thymann in New York City. All proceeds from print sales will go towards Project Pressure, for more information see here.